A Very Real Enemy

1 Peter 5:8–9 ESV

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

Why is there so much evil in the world today?

I have people ask me that all the time.

They want to know how a loving God could put evil into the world.

And, of course, we know that God did not create evil.

What He DID create, was choice.

So when we talk about why terrible things happen, we often give the great answer, “Because there is SIN in the world.”

And that is true.

Evil exists because every person has the power of choice to do good or evil.

But that is not the whole story.

Because the next question is WHY do people choose to do evil?

Most churches today will don’t even like to talk about sin.

They hate to use the word.

They want to talk about the wrong choices we make.

Ultimately, the responsibility for our sin is on us.

But we are not just fighting our own dark inclinations.

There is a very real enemy who seeks to harm us, and he manipulates our weaknesses to draw us away from God.

I am talking about the Devil—Satan.

You almost never hear preachers talk about Satan anymore.

I have talked with several people from different church backgrounds, and they all had to admit that they could not remember the last time anyone taught about the devil.

I am sure they have their reasons for not doing so.

They don’t want to be controversial.

They don’t want to frighten people.

They don’t want to give people an excuse of blaming their sin on Satan rather than owning responsibility.

“The devil made me do it.”

But when you don’t teach, people don’t learn.

Hosea 4:6 ESV

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.

There is danger for the minister who intentionally withholds the whole truth.

And there is danger for anyone who is not properly taught.

You would be amazed how many Christians don’t actually believe in the devil.

Or if they do believe, they downplay his role in the scheme of things.

But the devil is real, and he is dangerous.

So we need to know about him.

Satan Is Real

It’s funny how people have no problem believing in God and Jesus, but have so much difficulty believing in the devil.

Scripture talks about his history.

Isaiah 14:12–14 ESV

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’

Jesus talked directly to the devil in the wilderness.

Matthew 4:1–11 ESV

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ ” Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

Satan Hates God

Everything Satan does is out of hatred for God.

As we read in Isaiah 14, Satan thought he could become God’s equal.

In his pride, Satan was cast out of heaven.

Revelation 12:9 ESV

And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

We have to remember that sin is not about doing bad.

Sin is an attitude of the heart that says, “I am going to do things MY way.”

1 John 3:8 ESV

Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

So Satan sinned, refusing to submit to God’s will, and was punished.

Satan Hates You

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

If you REALLY hate someone, what is the best way to hurt them?

Hurt what they love.

And Satan knows how much God loves us.

So Satan’s main attack at trying to hurt God is to attack us.

1 Peter 5:8 ESV

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Satan is the Ultimate Con Artist

His end goal is to convince every one of us to NOT come to Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:4 ESV

In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

2 Corinthians 11:14 ESV

And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

Genesis 3 shows us the devil at work from the beginning to pull us away from God.

Genesis 3:1–7 ESV

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

This is why we have to be vigilant.

Satan will take any form and use any trick to turn us away from God.

Like Adam and Eve, he will seduce us to follow our desires rather then obey.

Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, he will frighten or intimidate us so that we quit trusting God.

Like Job, he will bring disaster to make us blame God.

Like the Pharisees, he will convince us to trust in our own good works and religiousness rather than Jesus’ sacrifice to save us.

Or like the fool mentioned in Psalm 14, Satan will get us to believe that there is no God, and we are on our own.

Satan doesn’t care if we don’t believe in him or underestimate him. In fact, he likes it that way, because it makes it easier for him to control us.

But we must remember that he is a master manipulator, and he is a powerful enemy who must NOT be underestimated!

John 10:10 tells us that the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.

Satan knows if he can keep us from coming to Christ, we will be eternally separated from God.

Satan is Already Defeated!

But here is the good news: as powerful as the devil is, he is not ALL-powerful.

We already read in Revelation how Satan was cast down from heaven.

Revelation also tells us that Satan and his followers will all come to a final judgment, where they will be cast into hell, in eternal torment, forever separated from God.

John 12:31 ESV

Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.

Revelation 20:10 ESV

and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

And while that is well and good, God wants us to know that we can overcome the devil RIGHT NOW!

1 John 4:4 ESV

Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

But while God gives us the ability to resist temptation, we have to actually do the resisting!

1 Corinthians 10:12 ESV

Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

James 4:7 ESV

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

When we come to Christ, God’s Holy Spirit indwells us and empowers us to resist the devil’s tricks.

1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

God gives us power to overcome.

Sometimes that comes in the strength to say no to temptation.

Sometimes it comes in the wisdom to get out of an environment of constant temptation.

1 Corinthians 10:14 ESV

Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.

But if we are vigilant, and keep our trust in Jesus, we WILL overcome!

2 Timothy 4:17–18 ESV

But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Conclusion

We have to be aware that there is a powerful enemy who wants to destroy us.

We don’t have to fear him, but we must be on guard against his seductions, fear, and persecution.

We need to make others aware that, just as there is a loving God who wants us as His children, there is a hateful adversary who wants to keep them eternally separated from God.

He will act like their best friend, but deep down he doesn’t care about them at all.

He only wants to hurt us because he knows how much God loves us.

But we can hold on to the promise that the cross of Jesus is enough to give us life, restore us to the heavenly Father, and empower us to overcome our enemy!